We are a couple of weeks into the new year of 2023 and it has already been a busy one for JAG, myself and, if I am guessing correctly, for you as well. You know what they say, “No rest for the weary”. But I think for all those involved in our industry, we thrive on this fast-paced environment and the lack of sleep as well!
We held our general elections in December 2022, and the JAG Board of Trustees held their reorganization meeting in January 2023. Here are the results of the board’s elections:
Chair/President of JAG: Bob Duthaler
Vice-Chair: Doug Seidel
Treasurer: Linda Besink
Recording Secretary: Anthony Pagliuco
Corresponding Secretary: Stephanie Gibbons
Trustees: George Fairfield, Dave Garb, Rick Gearhart, and Don Smith
During the JAG Board of Trustee’s Re-organization meeting the trustees did the following:
Reviewed Trustee Policies and Procedures for meetings and annual calendar
Reviewed Trustee Policies and Procedures for JAG Officers and Committees
Discussed Trustee Policies and Procedures for JAG Direction for 2023
Reviewed Finances, Funding and Budget for 2023. In addition, the BOT voted to approve the 2023 budget as presented by the Finance Committee and sent it to Executive Board for approval.
Reviewed staffing for JAG, job evaluations and goals for 2023
Reviewed Policies and Procedures, and the structure for handling complaints
Set the tone for 2023 and will meet again in August during the Annual Board Retreat.
Following the adjournment of the JAG Board of Trustee’s Meeting, JAG’s Executive Board met. Members are listed below:
Bob Duthaler – President (Chair of Conference Committee)
Doug Seidel – VP (Chair of Leadership Development Committee)
Linda Besink – Treasurer (Chair of Finance Committee)
Anthony Pagliuco – Recording Secretary (VC of Production)
Stephanie Gibbons – Corresponding Secretary (Chair of Membership)
Geoffrey Belinfante – Chair, External Relations
Lee Beckerman – Chair, Production Committee
Dave Garb – Chair, Legislative Committee
Don Smith, Co-Chair of Conference Committee
Rick Gearhart – Conference Committee Member
George Fairfield, Chair of JAG Awards
During the Executive Board Meeting the following items were discussed:
Recruitment of new committee members from the general membership – getting new people involved with JAG
Updates from the following committees: Legislative, Membership, Leadership Development, Conference and JAG Awards.
Executive Committee discussed the following:
General Meeting Dates for 2023
Manager’s Round Table Topics: First one is to be Thursday, February 9th @ 2pm
Future Webinars – no dates set yet
Commitment of Committees to contribute articles for newsletter
Finance Committee
Update on JAG 2022 Filing
2023 billing underway
Reviewed 2022 Finances, Budget and Spending (All Under Budget!!)
Reviewed 2023 Proposed Budget
Production Committee
Discussed JAG Marketing Videos
Discussed JAG YouTube Account and JAG Streaming Channel
Discussed Future Projects – Training Videos
External Relations Committee
Reviewed JAG Website and Membership Only Area
Reviewed Vendor Presentations at upcoming meetings
Discussed the NJLM Conference Review and Planning for 2023
Discussed Newsletter
The Executive Board reviewed, voted on and approved the 2023 budget and sent it for First Reading at the January 25th General Membership Meeting.
I want to thank everyone for their time and commitment to the JAG Board of Trustees and JAG Executive Board. I am aware of the time and commitment involved in your duties, between board meetings, general membership meetings and the multiple committees that most of you are all on as well. This does not go unnoticed by me or the general membership as well. For anyone who is interested in being part of the many JAG Committees, please reach out to me and I will help you get more involved: bduthaler@jagonline.org I would like to send thanks again to Dave Ambrosy who after 40 years in this industry retired at the end of 2022. Dave leaves East Brunswick after serving as its station manager. In addition, Dave was a JAG Trustee and Executive Board Member, serving on both the Production and Conference Committees. Dave took on handling entertainment for the conference and even played with his band during one of JAG’s event. The board and I wish him a happy and healthy retirement and thank him for his dedication to JAG
This session discusses the different media and strategies that municipalities can use to communicate with their citizens. Our panel of experts will delve into social media, over-the-top (OTT) options and platforms beyond Facebook and YouTube. Our panelists include JAG’s Executive Board members who utilize various media and platforms every day to amplify and share municipal information every day.
Some of you may remember starting out back in the day and the fun and excitement of creating new local programming. Discovering local talent in town to announce your sports coverage or become reporters and interviewing your neighbors so they can tune in to their cable channel and watch themselves. Convincing your mayor and council that yes, people will watch. Or maybe you remember the frustration of carrying those heavy cameras the size of a microwave and attached to an even heavier tape deck that recorded a whopping twenty minutes of footage on U-matic cassettes. If you were lucky, maybe you had a production assistant watching the audio meter and time remaining. The frustration of working all day on your deck-to-deck edit only to have the boss ask if you can add a section in the middle. Or hear the awful sound of the pinch roller crunching the tape sending the deck into warning. What is a pinch roller anyway???
For the most part everything was new and fun to figure out, like chroma-key for graphics, lighting techniques and wiring up multi camera shoots. A different production every day. Covering an elementary school class where kids say, “no one watches that channel,” followed by, “when is it going to be on?” Still makes me laugh.
I believe the purpose of your PEG channel is still the same today as it was back then. To get the township’s information out to the residents i.e., council and board meetings and in the meantime create a little fun so people want to watch. Something that hasn’t changed is just when you think you learned and mastered the format of the day, it all becomes obsolete, and you have to get ahead of the curve and learn what’s new and how to implement that technology to keep your station up to date. Going from large bulky cameras to PTZs, giant twenty-minute cassette tapes to SD cards the size of a stamp that record for hours, linear to nonlinear editing. Perhaps the biggest change is in content delivery. From manually hitting Play on a tape deck and flipping a switch to go live on your cable channel to scheduling files on a playback server to play anytime on multiple platforms.
Changes for the future remain to be seen but we all did a pretty good job adapting and changing our workflow through a pandemic where PEG channels became more important in their community than ever before. Funding may become a real issue should franchise fees and how they are determined change, but I think PEG access stations have a long and bright future if they stay true to their roots. We have to look ahead and be ready as people change the way they consume media. Today, people want to watch everything on their terms—when they want, on a device of their choosing. Those of us working at PEG stations must embrace all new media technologies, those in place now and those that will come in the future in order to reach younger, more computer and internet savvy viewers. The information and entertainment programming we produce must be available beyond our cable channels to people who have cut the cord. We must be willing to incorporate all kinds of Over the Top (OTT) solutions to deliver our content to all our citizens, those with cable and those without. The number of cord cutters is likely to grow, but PEG Channels still have something no other media entity has. To quote my first boss who hired me, “We can get people to watch by giving them something the big networks can’t, and that’s themselves.”
You may have heard that I will be retiring at the end of 2022 after forty plus years in local TV. WOW, how did that happen? Best wishes as you and I hope to watch the great work to come from the JAG membership.
December; what a wonderful time of the year; the winter solstice; the music; the lights; the food; and most importantly, everybody gathering together, sharing good tidings, warm embraces, and hunkering down around a video monitor agonizing over what to choose for the JAG Awards.
The JAG Awards Committee is excited to announce the JAG Awards will open for registration and submissions on January 1, 2023.
The JAG Awards Committee has even more great news. First and probably most important to everyone, all JAG members in good standing will, once again this year, be able to submit their first entry for free.
The other big news is that in an effort to even out the competition among the vastly different JAG stations, the committee has added more categories. These 2023 JAG Awards categories will provide more opportunities for our members to enter and be honored for their hard work.
Here is a complete list of the categories:
101. Documentary:
201. Instructional/Training:
301. News Magazine:
401. Talk Show:
501. PSA: Public Service Announcement:
601. Promotion:
701. Sports Programming / Single Camera:
801. Sports Programming / Multi-Camera:
901. Public Meeting / Single Camera:
1000. Public Meeting / Multi-Camera:
1100. Public Ceremony / Single Camera:
1200. Public Ceremony / Multi-Camera:
1300. Public Parade / Single Camera:
1400. Public Parade / Multi-Camera:
1500. Concert / Single Camera:
1600. Concert /Multiple Camera:
1800. Community Development Event:
1900. Community Ground Breaking/Ribbon Cutting/Dedication:
2000. Community Festival/Fair Event:
2100. Community Award Presentation:
JAG will also be awarding an overall high score to an Independent Producer and a Non-Profit organization.
With everything said, do you want to hear your station’s name announced after, “the winner is”? Then you have to enter the JAG Awards. You have to be in it to hear it (and win it). Good luck
JAG held another session at the New Jersey League of Municipalities Conference this past November. I was lucky enough to do this session with Geoffrey Belinfante. Our goal was to illustrate the different emerging trends and communication tools to effectively engage residents beyond a traditional access channel.
In our presentation, we spoke about the following:
• Social Media Video Trends
• Social Media Video Statistics
• Cord Cutters
• Power of Video Samples
• Local Franchises and Statewide Franchises
• Benefits of a Local Cable Channel for Municipalities
I am going to go through a few of these with you now, but I urge you to watch the video which will be linked at the end of this article to see all the topics we discussed, the video samples and the questions from folks just like you.
Micro-Videos
One of the latest and fastest growing trends is known as “Micro-Videos”: the rise of short video content and the platforms that cater to it (namely TikTok and Instagram Reels). With our lives becoming increasingly more fast paced like the world around us, viewer attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, and the need for short, “snackable” content is getting bigger and bigger. Because of this viewer viewing trend, we also need to think of ways to create video content that works well on TikTok and Instagram Reels. TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2020 and 2021 and currently has 1 billion monthly active users. According to a recent GenZ TikTok users survey, Instagram Reels is essentially interchangeable. 87% of them agreed with the statement “Instagram Reels is basically the same as TikTok”. Plus, Reels receives 22% more engagement than regular video content. 2023 is the year for stations to start leveraging the power of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and easy-to-consume micro-videos in your video marketing strategy. I am giving this much thought and plan on producing these short videos throughout the new year in 2023.
Vlogging!
The vlog industry has been growing rapidly and will likely only continue to explode in 2023. According to research, over 44% of Internet users watch vlogs every single month. Vlogging is just continued proof of what marketers have known for years — storytelling is the best way to connect with your audience. Through vlogging, you have the opportunity to position yourself (the creator, the brand, etc.) as the main character of your story, allowing your followers to connect and engage in a more personal way. From a marketing point of view, this form of video is absolutely necessary if you want to maximize your success in 2023. I believe this format does need some strategy and plan to make it a success, along with scheduled releases.
Live videos are still proving the way to go.
During the pandemic, live videos skyrocketed in popularity with a lack of face-to-face interactions. Live video became essential for hosting events and connecting with people in a time when our worlds became smaller than ever. Even as we’ve begun to return to a more connected way of life the demand for live video content is only growing. Users engage at a higher rate when the video content is live.
It can be even more effective if you announce your livestream beforehand and use your live video to make a big announcement or reveal. We already began to master the art of going live, now it’s time to take it to the next level as a marketing tool.
Social Media Statistics.
In a recent report, Cisco reported that video would account for 82% of all online traffic by 2022. Users engage at a higher rate when the video content is live. On Facebook, statistics show that viewers will watch live videos for 3x longer than pre-recorded videos. The average length of Facebook’s top 100 videos is 3 minutes and 23 seconds (Newswhip, 2020). 52% of American adults use Facebook to discover the latest news. (Forbes)
Here is an interesting fact for all of us video purists, users also like square videos – they are watched 35% more frequently than landscape ones. But vertical videos are loved with 6-9 times more engagement than square videos. They also get 13.8% more visibility. I’m still shaking after reading those statistics. So how do we take advantage of that? Sometimes the answer is in the promotion of an event….Going live on FB with a square or vertical video showing you setting up for an upcoming event, and even including a link in the post that will take viewers to your full live coverage later that can be in a glorious, 16:9 full HD format!
What about the cord cutters?
We all know our priority is cable, the reason we have a channel. But viewing habits continue to change and we need to satisfy all. In a CNN article in August 2022 the headline was: The Cord Has Been Cut. Streaming is more watched than cable. For the first time ever, Americans are watching more streaming TV than cable, according to a report from Nielsen. The milestone has long been expected as viewers change their viewing habits and ditch their pricey cable bundles for cheaper alternatives. In July, streaming amounted to 34.8% in the share of total TV consumption, a growth of nearly 23% within the past year. Cable and broadcast viewership both dropped year over year, with the former amounting to 34.4% and the latter making up just 21.6%. Both fell around 10% compared to July 2021. I will add in my personal point on that one stat, there is now football (Pro or College) in July. Cable sees a spike in viewing during football season. So how do we keep up with cord cutters? The good news is that Municipal Access Channels are now appearing on ROKU, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and other platforms as well. (see my Wish List article for more thoughts on this).
I hope this article gives you pause to think about the various trends and ways to reach out to your community, get your message out there and broaden your reach beyond the cable channel. The session was videotaped and will be available soon.
Last month JAG, the Jersey Access Group, had the distinct pleasure of presenting a special joint session with the League of Municipalities at their annual conference. It was on the Broadband Grants and Funding opportunities that was created from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which was approved last year by the federal government.
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Congress has approved $65 billion dollars to improve broadband deployment and adoption throughout the United States. This funding will flow from the Federal Government to the states for distribution. Our session helped communities to fully understand where that money is currently and how they will apply for it once it arrives.
Our panelists of experts included: Valarry Bullard, Broadband Advisor to Governor Murphy; India P. Still, Deputy Executive Director Administration – Atlantic City Municipal Utilities Authority; Joseph Rivera, Manager of Broadband Access – NJ BPU; Ken Fellman – Helmer, Conley & Kasselman, P.A.; Robert Boyle, CEO Planet Networks; Mayor Brian Wahler of Piscataway Township, and Bob Duthaler, President of JAG.
They all shared their wisdom on this subject by explaining what was happening, what this money should be used for, and how they may contribute in order to be in the discussions about acquiring a part of this money for their own town’s broadband needs.
BPU Broadband Assessment Survey
One of best ways to try and obtain your share of this money was brought up by Joseph Rivera of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Mr. Rivera mentioned that there is a survey going on right now to determine how the grants will be divided among our 564 municipalities as part of New Jersey’s Broadband Assessment Project. The most notable part of this survey is that it needs participation from every citizen in every community.
What this money is supposed to do is help the unserved, underserved and community anchor institutions in order of to achieve statewide, 100% access to high speed internet service. This includes senior citizens and those living in poverty. So there is a great need to find out who and where these residents reside.
Please click on the link https://broadband-nj.com to participate in this survey. Every voice is needed to help decide how the money will be distributed.
FCC National Broadband Mapping
Ken Feldman explained the new FCC National Broadband Mapping that was coming out in a few days. This map details the level of broadband service available across the country. Visit https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home and you will have the ability to drill down to your specific home. Everyone should examine your specific location for accuracy and if you find the information to be incorrect you can challenge its accuracy. For more details about this map, please read the article below from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about this undertaking.
Watch or review the broadband session that was presented at the 2022 League of Municipalities conference.
Following the Money: Accessing Broadband Funding
The information that was talked about was very valuable, especially to those municipalities who have been forced to contend with broadband issues. The pandemic exposed all of us to the crucial need for broadband with high speed internet. This session explained in simple terms what you and your citizens must do in order to be in the running to get a share of these amazing grants.
The New Broadband Maps Are Finally Here
November 18, 2022
By Jessica Rosenworcel | Chairwoman
Today, the FCC is unveiling the pre-production draft of its new broadband maps. These maps provide the best picture available to date of where broadband is and is not available across the country, and the maps will only get better from here. Here are the most important things to know about today’s maps:
Broadband consumers are empowered like never before. Maps that show the availability of high-speed Internet service are nothing new. The problem is that the FCC’s maps had previously relied on information that failed to paint the whole picture of who did and who did not have the internet. The FCC’s older maps collected data at the census block level, meaning that if a single home was served in a census block, the whole block would show up as served on our maps. The net result was maps that were overly optimistic, lacked location-specific information, and subsequently glossed over gaps in coverage. With these new maps, the FCC has integrated the information from broadband providers with hundreds of location-specific data sources, giving us a far more detailed and accurate picture of fixed broadband availability.
These improved maps will mean direct benefits for consumers. Users now have a one-stop-shop to search for their address and find information about which internet service providers claim to offer service at the location, the broadband technologies they offer, and the maximum download and upload speeds they advertise for each technology. This greater transparency will create market pressures on internet providers to improve their coverage. The new maps will also help policymakers more accurately target investments to expand broadband to unserved and underserved areas and close the digital divide.
This is a beginning, not an endpoint, for the new era of broadband maps. While today marks an important milestone in the effort to create more granular and accurate broadband maps, this work is far from over. To emphasize how much more work needs to be done, we are calling the product we unveil today a pre-production draft. Releasing this early version of the new maps is intended to kickstart an ongoing, iterative process where we are consistently adding new data to improve and refine the maps.
The long-term success of this effort will depend on consumer and stakeholder engagement. To ensure that the maps are constantly improving, we have set up a system that allows consumers and others to challenge inaccuracies and provide feedback. Individuals who see that the information on the maps does not match up with what they know from their lived experience will be able to submit challenges, or request corrections, directly through the map interface. We will also accept bulk challenges to the reported availability data from state, Tribal, and local governments and other stakeholders who see problems we need to correct in multiple locations. We strongly encourage these parties to partner with us and share their input through the challenge process so we may continue to improve our maps. This crowdsourcing activity is an important part of getting the information we have right.
The last thing I would note about the release of today’s maps is that they are the product of a lot of hard work, especially by public servants at the FCC. I want to thank the Broadband Data Task Force and the many, many dedicated staff throughout the Commission who have helped us get to this point. Thanks also to the Congressional leaders who spearheaded the Broadband DATA Act, which was the driving force behind today’s release.
This effort is a big improvement over the old system that simply stated if service was available on the basis of a single subscriber in a census block. But we have work to do to refine this information and make sure it is accurate and up to date. Let’s get to it.
—Jessica
Calls To Action
1) Look closely at these maps to check their accuracy and to see how each of your towns measure up
2) Make sure that you and your residents fill out the BPU’s survey. Please remember, everyone can be a great spokesperson for their own municipality!
This is the second year I attended the New Jersey State League of Municipalities convention. It is also the second time I have had the honor to speak on the JAG panel on a topic that I am so passionate about and have dedicated the last 29 years of my life to making it a reality with Planet Networks – fast, reliable, and affordable Internet access for all – especially those in chronically underserved areas.
The rock stars I had the honor to share the stage with are equally passionate about the cause of better broadband for all. Thank you to: Valarry C. Bullard (Transparency Officer | Broadband Advisor – NJ Office of the Governor), Joe Rivera (Manager of Broadband Access NJ BPU), India Still (Deputy Executive Director Administration and Finance Atlantic City MUA), Bob Duthaler (President Jersey Access Group), Ken Fellman (President at Kissinger & Fellman, P.C.), & Brian Wahler (Piscataway Township, Mayor).
It was not an accident that the very first residential building Planet Networks lit up with fiber Internet was a 101-unit apartment building where the majority of the units were rent-subsidized. We were also one of the first companies to sign up for the federal government’s Emergency Broadband Benefit during the pandemic. This initiative turned into the Affordable Connectivity Program which we have supported and accepted since day one. Providing ubiquitous and affordable Internet is a universal problem that will require all of us to work together toward equity and justice from NJ’s most rural farm roads to our urban centers. Far too many still lack access to anything resembling reliable Internet service. Private investments, like those Planet Networks is making with the addition of the federal funds available, when spent wisely can ensure access for all. If you live in NJ and haven’t already taken it, please take the NJ broadband assessment: https://broadband-nj.com.
The Holiday Season is underway, starting with Thanksgiving and ending with the New Year just a few weeks away. Every year at my house, the kids get ready to celebrate Christmas and they (ok, me too!) start working on their Christmas List! The same can be said for running your station or JAG as an organization.
What would be on your list this year for your station?
I hope you picked up some ideas from the many vendors who attended our in-person trade show back in May or from the many vendor presentations at our monthly meetings. There is no wrong answer in this situation. Each station operates differently from others across the state and vary greatly. But each has the same core principle, to inform their community in which they serve. When you make your wish list, keep in mind your community, their needs and how as a station you can serve them. The goal is always to enhance what we are currently doing.
It’s no secret that I am a tech head! I love new and exciting things that come along that can help our industry and make our lives easier. I love to play around with these items, demo them, beta test and give valuable feedback on how they would fit in with my station operations and how to best serve my community. With that in mind, I am going to share with you some items that are on my wish list for this holiday season based on what I am doing at stations I am involved with. Perhaps these will give you some ideas, encourage you to review your station’s needs and give you direction for the future.
Enhanced Live Broadcast –
Live broadcasts are on top of the list again this year. We are working on ways to not only increase the number of live broadcasts we are doing but the quality as well. We are capable of going live from anywhere, thanks in no small part to using LiveU units, Tricaster and TelVue systems. We do remote location meetings live (BOE with LiveU) and Council, Zoning and Planning via fiber connection and ethernet connections. Streaming them live on-air, our website, the township website and Facebook is a must. Our goal now is to increase the quality of those broadcasts by using NDI Technology, creative graphics and enhanced production techniques with our new production switcher as well. We are even bringing in Zoom for hybrid meetings or next level all Zoom.
OTT and The Cord Cutters –
Cable remains at the heart of our operation and broadcast source, but we continue to realize it’s not the only way. Evidence continues to mount, and more so in 2022, that people are watching video on many different sources. Tuning in at 8pm to watch a particular program doesn’t always mean on cable. As discussed above, it can be on streaming on websites or on social media platforms. Now it includes stations having their own OTT channel on Apple TV, ROKU or even Amazon Fire. Cord cutters can watch our channels in a linear format just like cable. Stations have found other sources to stream their channel on other apps as well. Vendors like Rushworks, Telvue and Cablecast have solutions for your needs. Our lives continue to be busier now than they were years ago, running in different directions with children’s activities, volunteering, exercise and more. We are an “on-demand” society, wanting to consume video when we want, and how we want. Therefore, it is important to establish an online presence on social media, the web and Over-The-Top (OTT) devices like ROKU, Apple TV, Fire Stick and others.
Build A Better Bulletin Board –
This is how many stations started, and for some, their Bulletin Board may account for most of their programming. But long gone are the days of running a basic text program or Power Point slide show. Vendors like Cablecast and Telvue have creative solutions for bringing your bulletin boards to the next level. You need to create content on your bulletin board system that is both informational and creative. The use of video and motions graphics are the way to do that. In addition, running short informational videos (under 2mins), PSAs, and station programming promos take your bulletin boards to the next level. But don’t stop there! Look for other add-ons to make your channel a destination even when the bulletin board is airing. Adding in motion graphics like weather, news tickers, trivia, top 10 lists, and more add new life to your bulletin board system. Finally, don’t forget the music. As recently discussed at our last meeting, companies like de Wolfe have large music libraries at an affordable price to give you the opportunity to create your own music playlist that you can use during bulletin board playout. Plus, changing playlists during the year and even adding in a holiday music playlist allows your channel to even play as background entertainment.
Next Level Stations –
Not all stations will ever reach this status, but even if there is a chance yours could, you should make yourself aware of them. Several JAG stations are using additional production enhancements like mobile productions units. This allows stations to show up anywhere to cover a sporting event, concert, or parade. These can be box trucks or trailers. Some others start smaller with a fly pack and tent for protection. These are more on the expensive side, but something to think about for capital requests or franchise renewal requests. How about updates to your studio or even just creating a new studio. Both JVC with various camera and PTZs, along with DeSisti Lighting can give your studio the upgrade it needs or the equipment to even create a new one. JAG has many vendors that can be used as resources like Varto Technologies and G&G Technology to help evaluate your needs, supply various equipment and even do installations.
Top Notch Broadcasts –
Now is the time to start concentrating and preparing for next level broadcasting. For PEG stations this means HD on cable along with incorporating closed captioning in your programming. As we have discussed throughout the year at JAG meetings, if you have a channel that falls under the state-wide system franchise, then you have the right to an HD Channel. I urge you to find out about your franchises and what you are entitled to. Not under a system-wide franchise, only a local agreement? Well stations are now negotiating for a HD Channel in their new franchises and some stations have even begun talks with cable providers prior to renewal. Just like anything in life, you never know where you stand unless you ask for it. As I mentioned above, the move to having a channel with closed captioning is coming sooner than later. Explore the many vendors out there who you may be using already to learn about their closed caption solutions. Companies like Municipal Captioning can help steer you through the different options available.
Let these ideas I discussed be the start of your discussion at your station
Plan your township’s next steps in getting what you want. Some of you may want the same thing, some may want something different and others may just be trying to find solutions within their budget. It does not matter what path you take next; the important thing is to have a plan in mind, use the resources that both JAG Members and Vendors can give you, and do your best to get that information out to your viewers and engage them. Through this process you will find out that your holiday wishes can come true! I wish your station, your family and yourself all the best for this upcoming Holiday Season and New Year. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions you might have, as I am always willing to share my thoughts and experiences: bduthaler@jagonline.org .
JAG and the NJ League of Municipalities present a joint session that explains how to access broadband funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Last year the Federal Government approved $65B to improve broadband deployment and adoption. This funding will flow to states for distribution. During this session, our expert panel discusses how municipalities can apply for grants and use funds at the local level. The panel is hosted by Mayor Brian Wahler of Piscataway Township. Other panelists include Valarry Bullard, Broadband Advisor to Governor Murphy; Joseph Rivera, Manager of Broadband Access – NJ BPU; Ken Fellman, Esq. Of Counsel, Helmer, Conley, & Kasselman, P.C.; Robert Boyle, CEO Planet Networks; and Bob Duthaler, JAG President.
By Joel Feinberg, Chief Executive Officer, de Wolfe Music USA Inc.
De Wolfe Music was founded in 1909 by Meyer de Wolfe. Now at 113 years old, we are a full-service music company offering a production music library, custom composition, sound effects, and commercial music clearance services. Although the company is still independent and family-run, de Wolfe has achieved worldwide recognition and our music can be heard in countless films, TV shows, advertisements, and more.
The main attraction is our production music library, which contains a broad collection of over 100,000 tracks. Instead of aggregating existing recordings by random composers, de Wolfe works with a close-knit circle of full-time composers and is directly involved from composition to recording, mixing and mastering. Both sides of our music (composition and master) are 100% owned and pre-cleared for licensing. By maintaining exclusive control of our compositions and master recordings, we make the licensing process 1-stop, quick and easy.
We release 40-50 new albums every year, guaranteeing a fresh, contemporary sound within a multitude of genres. We strive to stay on top of the hottest music trends and those that would lend themselves perfectly for synchronization. Our in-house music specialists are available to provide music search assistance with lightning-fast results.
Our Labels
DE WOLFE MUSIC Creative and musically diverse, the production music label that started it all, covering most musical genres, with over 600 albums and tens of thousands of tracks.
SOLID STATE MUSIC Tracks ideal for rock, sports, news and business all with a North American focus.
ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA De Wolfe is proud to be working with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and releasing their recordings of the world’s greatest classical music.
DE WOLFE JAZZ A unique collection of the very best jazz available for licensing. From ragtime to jazz hop, and everything in between
COMMERCIAL BREAKS Made-to-measure music that’s ideal for radio ads, jingles and voice-overs, all cut to handy 60, 30 and 15 second lengths.
DE WOLFE VINYL Our LP – back-catalog lovingly remastered. Old favorites, cult classics and music hard to find anywhere else
20TH CENTURY ARCHIVE A special collection of our authentic vintage recordings remastered from our prized vaults. Each album focuses on a particular era. Perfect for time period productions.
SYLVESTER MUSIC LIBRARY Recorded between 1960 and 1974, the albums on Sylvester cover everything from avantgarde and music concrete, to French jazz and easy listening.
HUDSON MUSIC The little production music library that’s a lot different. Hudson offers tracks that are quirky, fun and diverse: from easy listening and lounge to styles and musical clichés.
ROUGE Rouge catalog showcases our commercial composers at their best. The specialty series ‘The History of Jazz’ features some of the outstanding musicians on the jazz scene.
ROUGE VINYL The Rouge Music Library was created in the 1970s and includes a wealth of Disco, Sports, Jazz and Drama. All of these LP’s are now available re-mastered.
SYNCTRACKS Synctracks covers a broad range of popular styles and genres as well as some experimental tracks for those who consider themselves adventurous.
BITE HARD Bridges the gap between commercial music and the ease of licensing of production music. Bite Hard brings authenticity and commercial production values to promos, trailers, TV shows and movies.
Music Licensing
We offer a wide array of music licensing options which can be tailored to the needs of any single or series of productions.
Needle Drop: per use within a single production
Production Blanket: unlimited use within a single production
Series Blanket: unlimited usage throughout a series of related productions
Theme Use: unlimited use of one (1) track for a period of one (1) year
Annual Subscription: unlimited use of a portion or the whole library for a period of 1, 2, or 3 years.
Pricing
Our licensing fees are calculated based upon the type of production, clearances required, territory, and term. Please contact us for a quote at team@dewolfemusic.com
To learn more, we will be speaking at JAG’s general meeting on December 7th at 12:12pm via Zoom.
News & Events
Posted: January 4, 2023 by Doug Seidel
Beyond Cable: New Ways to Communicate with your Citizens
This session discusses the different media and strategies that municipalities can use to communicate with their citizens. Our panel of experts will delve into social media, over-the-top (OTT) options and platforms beyond Facebook and YouTube. Our panelists include JAG’s Executive Board members who utilize various media and platforms every day to amplify and share municipal information every day.
Posted: December 19, 2022 by bduthaler
PEG Stations—Then, Now, and Into the Future
By Dave Ambrosy, Station Manager, East Brunswick
Some of you may remember starting out back in the day and the fun and excitement of creating new local programming. Discovering local talent in town to announce your sports coverage or become reporters and interviewing your neighbors so they can tune in to their cable channel and watch themselves. Convincing your mayor and council that yes, people will watch. Or maybe you remember the frustration of carrying those heavy cameras the size of a microwave and attached to an even heavier tape deck that recorded a whopping twenty minutes of footage on U-matic cassettes. If you were lucky, maybe you had a production assistant watching the audio meter and time remaining. The frustration of working all day on your deck-to-deck edit only to have the boss ask if you can add a section in the middle. Or hear the awful sound of the pinch roller crunching the tape sending the deck into warning. What is a pinch roller anyway???
For the most part everything was new and fun to figure out, like chroma-key for graphics, lighting techniques and wiring up multi camera shoots. A different production every day. Covering an elementary school class where kids say, “no one watches that channel,” followed by, “when is it going to be on?” Still makes me laugh.
I believe the purpose of your PEG channel is still the same today as it was back then. To get the township’s information out to the residents i.e., council and board meetings and in the meantime create a little fun so people want to watch. Something that hasn’t changed is just when you think you learned and mastered the format of the day, it all becomes obsolete, and you have to get ahead of the curve and learn what’s new and how to implement that technology to keep your station up to date. Going from large bulky cameras to PTZs, giant twenty-minute cassette tapes to SD cards the size of a stamp that record for hours, linear to nonlinear editing. Perhaps the biggest change is in content delivery. From manually hitting Play on a tape deck and flipping a switch to go live on your cable channel to scheduling files on a playback server to play anytime on multiple platforms.
Changes for the future remain to be seen but we all did a pretty good job adapting and changing our workflow through a pandemic where PEG channels became more important in their community than ever before. Funding may become a real issue should franchise fees and how they are determined change, but I think PEG access stations have a long and bright future if they stay true to their roots. We have to look ahead and be ready as people change the way they consume media. Today, people want to watch everything on their terms—when they want, on a device of their choosing. Those of us working at PEG stations must embrace all new media technologies, those in place now and those that will come in the future in order to reach younger, more computer and internet savvy viewers. The information and entertainment programming we produce must be available beyond our cable channels to people who have cut the cord. We must be willing to incorporate all kinds of Over the Top (OTT) solutions to deliver our content to all our citizens, those with cable and those without. The number of cord cutters is likely to grow, but PEG Channels still have something no other media entity has. To quote my first boss who hired me, “We can get people to watch by giving them something the big networks can’t, and that’s themselves.”
You may have heard that I will be retiring at the end of 2022 after forty plus years in local TV. WOW, how did that happen? Best wishes as you and I hope to watch the great work to come from the JAG membership.
Posted: December 19, 2022 by bduthaler
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD; ENTER THE JAG AWARDS
by George Fairfield, JAG Awards Committee, Chair
JAG AWARDS OPEN JANUARY 1, 2023!
JAG AWARDS CLOSE FEBRUARY 28, 2023!
December; what a wonderful time of the year; the winter solstice; the music; the lights; the food; and most importantly, everybody gathering together, sharing good tidings, warm embraces, and hunkering down around a video monitor agonizing over what to choose for the JAG Awards.
The JAG Awards Committee is excited to announce the JAG Awards will open for registration and submissions on January 1, 2023.
The JAG Awards Committee has even more great news. First and probably most important to everyone, all JAG members in good standing will, once again this year, be able to submit their first entry for free.
The other big news is that in an effort to even out the competition among the vastly different JAG stations, the committee has added more categories. These 2023 JAG Awards categories will provide more opportunities for our members to enter and be honored for their hard work.
Here is a complete list of the categories:
101. Documentary:
201. Instructional/Training:
301. News Magazine:
401. Talk Show:
501. PSA: Public Service Announcement:
601. Promotion:
701. Sports Programming / Single Camera:
801. Sports Programming / Multi-Camera:
901. Public Meeting / Single Camera:
1000. Public Meeting / Multi-Camera:
1100. Public Ceremony / Single Camera:
1200. Public Ceremony / Multi-Camera:
1300. Public Parade / Single Camera:
1400. Public Parade / Multi-Camera:
1500. Concert / Single Camera:
1600. Concert /Multiple Camera:
1800. Community Development Event:
1900. Community Ground Breaking/Ribbon Cutting/Dedication:
2000. Community Festival/Fair Event:
2100. Community Award Presentation:
JAG will also be awarding an overall high score to an Independent Producer and a Non-Profit organization.
With everything said, do you want to hear your station’s name announced after, “the winner is”? Then you have to enter the JAG Awards. You have to be in it to hear it (and win it). Good luck
Posted: December 19, 2022 by bduthaler
Beyond Cable: New Ways To Communicate With Your Citizens
by Bob Duthaler, Executive Board, Chair
JAG held another session at the New Jersey League of Municipalities Conference this past November. I was lucky enough to do this session with Geoffrey Belinfante. Our goal was to illustrate the different emerging trends and communication tools to effectively engage residents beyond a traditional access channel.
In our presentation, we spoke about the following:
• Social Media Video Trends
• Social Media Video Statistics
• Cord Cutters
• Power of Video Samples
• Local Franchises and Statewide Franchises
• Benefits of a Local Cable Channel for Municipalities
I am going to go through a few of these with you now, but I urge you to watch the video which will be linked at the end of this article to see all the topics we discussed, the video samples and the questions from folks just like you.
Micro-Videos
One of the latest and fastest growing trends is known as “Micro-Videos”: the rise of short video content and the platforms that cater to it (namely TikTok and Instagram Reels). With our lives becoming increasingly more fast paced like the world around us, viewer attention spans are getting shorter and shorter, and the need for short, “snackable” content is getting bigger and bigger. Because of this viewer viewing trend, we also need to think of ways to create video content that works well on TikTok and Instagram Reels. TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2020 and 2021 and currently has 1 billion monthly active users. According to a recent GenZ TikTok users survey, Instagram Reels is essentially interchangeable. 87% of them agreed with the statement “Instagram Reels is basically the same as TikTok”. Plus, Reels receives 22% more engagement than regular video content. 2023 is the year for stations to start leveraging the power of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and easy-to-consume micro-videos in your video marketing strategy. I am giving this much thought and plan on producing these short videos throughout the new year in 2023.
Vlogging!
The vlog industry has been growing rapidly and will likely only continue to explode in 2023. According to research, over 44% of Internet users watch vlogs every single month. Vlogging is just continued proof of what marketers have known for years — storytelling is the best way to connect with your audience. Through vlogging, you have the opportunity to position yourself (the creator, the brand, etc.) as the main character of your story, allowing your followers to connect and engage in a more personal way. From a marketing point of view, this form of video is absolutely necessary if you want to maximize your success in 2023. I believe this format does need some strategy and plan to make it a success, along with scheduled releases.
Live videos are still proving the way to go.
During the pandemic, live videos skyrocketed in popularity with a lack of face-to-face interactions. Live video became essential for hosting events and connecting with people in a time when our worlds became smaller than ever. Even as we’ve begun to return to a more connected way of life the demand for live video content is only growing. Users engage at a higher rate when the video content is live.
It can be even more effective if you announce your livestream beforehand and use your live video to make a big announcement or reveal. We already began to master the art of going live, now it’s time to take it to the next level as a marketing tool.
Social Media Statistics.
In a recent report, Cisco reported that video would account for 82% of all online traffic by 2022. Users engage at a higher rate when the video content is live. On Facebook, statistics show that viewers will watch live videos for 3x longer than pre-recorded videos. The average length of Facebook’s top 100 videos is 3 minutes and 23 seconds (Newswhip, 2020). 52% of American adults use Facebook to discover the latest news. (Forbes)
Here is an interesting fact for all of us video purists, users also like square videos – they are watched 35% more frequently than landscape ones. But vertical videos are loved with 6-9 times more engagement than square videos. They also get 13.8% more visibility. I’m still shaking after reading those statistics. So how do we take advantage of that? Sometimes the answer is in the promotion of an event….Going live on FB with a square or vertical video showing you setting up for an upcoming event, and even including a link in the post that will take viewers to your full live coverage later that can be in a glorious, 16:9 full HD format!
What about the cord cutters?
We all know our priority is cable, the reason we have a channel. But viewing habits continue to change and we need to satisfy all. In a CNN article in August 2022 the headline was: The Cord Has Been Cut. Streaming is more watched than cable. For the first time ever, Americans are watching more streaming TV than cable, according to a report from Nielsen. The milestone has long been expected as viewers change their viewing habits and ditch their pricey cable bundles for cheaper alternatives. In July, streaming amounted to 34.8% in the share of total TV consumption, a growth of nearly 23% within the past year. Cable and broadcast viewership both dropped year over year, with the former amounting to 34.4% and the latter making up just 21.6%. Both fell around 10% compared to July 2021. I will add in my personal point on that one stat, there is now football (Pro or College) in July. Cable sees a spike in viewing during football season. So how do we keep up with cord cutters? The good news is that Municipal Access Channels are now appearing on ROKU, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and other platforms as well. (see my Wish List article for more thoughts on this).
I hope this article gives you pause to think about the various trends and ways to reach out to your community, get your message out there and broaden your reach beyond the cable channel. The session was videotaped and will be available soon.
Posted: December 19, 2022 by bduthaler
TWO “Calls To Action”
by Dave Garb, Legislative Committee Chair
Last month JAG, the Jersey Access Group, had the distinct pleasure of presenting a special joint session with the League of Municipalities at their annual conference. It was on the Broadband Grants and Funding opportunities that was created from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which was approved last year by the federal government.
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Congress has approved $65 billion dollars to improve broadband deployment and adoption throughout the United States. This funding will flow from the Federal Government to the states for distribution. Our session helped communities to fully understand where that money is currently and how they will apply for it once it arrives.
Our panelists of experts included: Valarry Bullard, Broadband Advisor to Governor Murphy; India P. Still, Deputy Executive Director Administration – Atlantic City Municipal Utilities Authority; Joseph Rivera, Manager of Broadband Access – NJ BPU; Ken Fellman – Helmer, Conley & Kasselman, P.A.; Robert Boyle, CEO Planet Networks; Mayor Brian Wahler of Piscataway Township, and Bob Duthaler, President of JAG.
They all shared their wisdom on this subject by explaining what was happening, what this money should be used for, and how they may contribute in order to be in the discussions about acquiring a part of this money for their own town’s broadband needs.
BPU Broadband Assessment Survey
One of best ways to try and obtain your share of this money was brought up by Joseph Rivera of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Mr. Rivera mentioned that there is a survey going on right now to determine how the grants will be divided among our 564 municipalities as part of New Jersey’s Broadband Assessment Project. The most notable part of this survey is that it needs participation from every citizen in every community.
What this money is supposed to do is help the unserved, underserved and community anchor institutions in order of to achieve statewide, 100% access to high speed internet service. This includes senior citizens and those living in poverty. So there is a great need to find out who and where these residents reside.
Please click on the link https://broadband-nj.com to participate in this survey. Every voice is needed to help decide how the money will be distributed.
FCC National Broadband Mapping
Ken Feldman explained the new FCC National Broadband Mapping that was coming out in a few days. This map details the level of broadband service available across the country. Visit https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home and you will have the ability to drill down to your specific home. Everyone should examine your specific location for accuracy and if you find the information to be incorrect you can challenge its accuracy. For more details about this map, please read the article below from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about this undertaking.
Watch or review the broadband session that was presented at the 2022 League of Municipalities conference.
Following the Money: Accessing Broadband Funding
The information that was talked about was very valuable, especially to those municipalities who have been forced to contend with broadband issues. The pandemic exposed all of us to the crucial need for broadband with high speed internet. This session explained in simple terms what you and your citizens must do in order to be in the running to get a share of these amazing grants.
The New Broadband Maps Are Finally Here
November 18, 2022
By Jessica Rosenworcel | Chairwoman
Today, the FCC is unveiling the pre-production draft of its new broadband maps. These maps provide the best picture available to date of where broadband is and is not available across the country, and the maps will only get better from here. Here are the most important things to know about today’s maps:
Broadband consumers are empowered like never before. Maps that show the availability of high-speed Internet service are nothing new. The problem is that the FCC’s maps had previously relied on information that failed to paint the whole picture of who did and who did not have the internet. The FCC’s older maps collected data at the census block level, meaning that if a single home was served in a census block, the whole block would show up as served on our maps. The net result was maps that were overly optimistic, lacked location-specific information, and subsequently glossed over gaps in coverage. With these new maps, the FCC has integrated the information from broadband providers with hundreds of location-specific data sources, giving us a far more detailed and accurate picture of fixed broadband availability.
These improved maps will mean direct benefits for consumers. Users now have a one-stop-shop to search for their address and find information about which internet service providers claim to offer service at the location, the broadband technologies they offer, and the maximum download and upload speeds they advertise for each technology. This greater transparency will create market pressures on internet providers to improve their coverage. The new maps will also help policymakers more accurately target investments to expand broadband to unserved and underserved areas and close the digital divide.
This is a beginning, not an endpoint, for the new era of broadband maps. While today marks an important milestone in the effort to create more granular and accurate broadband maps, this work is far from over. To emphasize how much more work needs to be done, we are calling the product we unveil today a pre-production draft. Releasing this early version of the new maps is intended to kickstart an ongoing, iterative process where we are consistently adding new data to improve and refine the maps.
The long-term success of this effort will depend on consumer and stakeholder engagement. To ensure that the maps are constantly improving, we have set up a system that allows consumers and others to challenge inaccuracies and provide feedback. Individuals who see that the information on the maps does not match up with what they know from their lived experience will be able to submit challenges, or request corrections, directly through the map interface. We will also accept bulk challenges to the reported availability data from state, Tribal, and local governments and other stakeholders who see problems we need to correct in multiple locations. We strongly encourage these parties to partner with us and share their input through the challenge process so we may continue to improve our maps. This crowdsourcing activity is an important part of getting the information we have right.
The last thing I would note about the release of today’s maps is that they are the product of a lot of hard work, especially by public servants at the FCC. I want to thank the Broadband Data Task Force and the many, many dedicated staff throughout the Commission who have helped us get to this point. Thanks also to the Congressional leaders who spearheaded the Broadband DATA Act, which was the driving force behind today’s release.
This effort is a big improvement over the old system that simply stated if service was available on the basis of a single subscriber in a census block. But we have work to do to refine this information and make sure it is accurate and up to date. Let’s get to it.
—Jessica
Calls To Action
1) Look closely at these maps to check their accuracy and to see how each of your towns measure up
2) Make sure that you and your residents fill out the BPU’s survey. Please remember, everyone can be a great spokesperson for their own municipality!
Posted: December 19, 2022 by bduthaler
Broadband in New Jersey
by Robert Boyle, Founder and CEO, Planet Networks
This is the second year I attended the New Jersey State League of Municipalities convention. It is also the second time I have had the honor to speak on the JAG panel on a topic that I am so passionate about and have dedicated the last 29 years of my life to making it a reality with Planet Networks – fast, reliable, and affordable Internet access for all – especially those in chronically underserved areas.
The rock stars I had the honor to share the stage with are equally passionate about the cause of better broadband for all. Thank you to: Valarry C. Bullard (Transparency Officer | Broadband Advisor – NJ Office of the Governor), Joe Rivera (Manager of Broadband Access NJ BPU), India Still (Deputy Executive Director Administration and Finance Atlantic City MUA), Bob Duthaler (President Jersey Access Group), Ken Fellman (President at Kissinger & Fellman, P.C.), & Brian Wahler (Piscataway Township, Mayor).
It was not an accident that the very first residential building Planet Networks lit up with fiber Internet was a 101-unit apartment building where the majority of the units were rent-subsidized. We were also one of the first companies to sign up for the federal government’s Emergency Broadband Benefit during the pandemic. This initiative turned into the Affordable Connectivity Program which we have supported and accepted since day one. Providing ubiquitous and affordable Internet is a universal problem that will require all of us to work together toward equity and justice from NJ’s most rural farm roads to our urban centers. Far too many still lack access to anything resembling reliable Internet service. Private investments, like those Planet Networks is making with the addition of the federal funds available, when spent wisely can ensure access for all. If you live in NJ and haven’t already taken it, please take the NJ broadband assessment: https://broadband-nj.com.
LINK TO PRESENTATION: Video on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k90uN9lWdOk&t=35s
Posted: November 28, 2022 by Doug Seidel
Following the Money: Accessing Broadband Funding
JAG and the NJ League of Municipalities present a joint session that explains how to access broadband funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Last year the Federal Government approved $65B to improve broadband deployment and adoption. This funding will flow to states for distribution.
During this session, our expert panel discusses how municipalities can apply for grants and use
funds at the local level. The panel is hosted by Mayor Brian Wahler of Piscataway Township. Other panelists include Valarry Bullard, Broadband Advisor to Governor Murphy; Joseph Rivera, Manager of Broadband Access – NJ BPU; Ken Fellman, Esq. Of Counsel, Helmer, Conley, & Kasselman, P.C.; Robert Boyle, CEO Planet Networks; and Bob Duthaler, JAG President.
Posted: November 7, 2022 by bduthaler
Enhancing Your Programming with Music
By Joel Feinberg, Chief Executive Officer, de Wolfe Music USA Inc.
De Wolfe Music was founded in 1909 by Meyer de Wolfe. Now at 113 years old, we are a full-service music company offering a production music library, custom composition, sound effects, and commercial music clearance services. Although the company is still independent and family-run, de Wolfe has achieved worldwide recognition and our music can be heard in countless films, TV shows, advertisements, and more.
The main attraction is our production music library, which contains a broad collection of over 100,000 tracks. Instead of aggregating existing recordings by random composers, de Wolfe works with a close-knit circle of full-time composers and is directly involved from composition to recording, mixing and mastering. Both sides of our music (composition and master) are 100% owned and pre-cleared for licensing. By maintaining exclusive control of our compositions and master recordings, we make the licensing process 1-stop, quick and easy.
We release 40-50 new albums every year, guaranteeing a fresh, contemporary sound within a multitude of genres. We strive to stay on top of the hottest music trends and those that would lend themselves perfectly for synchronization. Our in-house music specialists are available to provide music search assistance with lightning-fast results.
Our Labels
Creative and musically diverse, the production music label that started it all, covering most musical genres, with over 600 albums and tens of thousands of tracks.
Tracks ideal for rock, sports, news and business all with a North American focus.
De Wolfe is proud to be working with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and releasing their recordings of the world’s greatest classical music.
A unique collection of the very best jazz available for licensing. From ragtime to jazz hop, and everything in between
Made-to-measure music that’s ideal for radio ads, jingles and voice-overs, all cut to handy 60, 30 and 15 second lengths.
Our LP – back-catalog lovingly remastered. Old favorites, cult classics and music hard to find anywhere else
A special collection of our authentic vintage recordings remastered from our prized vaults. Each album focuses on a particular era. Perfect for time period productions.
Recorded between 1960 and 1974, the albums on Sylvester cover everything from avantgarde and music concrete, to French jazz and easy listening.
The little production music library that’s a lot different. Hudson offers tracks that are quirky, fun and diverse: from easy listening and lounge to styles and musical clichés.
Rouge catalog showcases our commercial composers at their best. The specialty series ‘The History of Jazz’ features some of the outstanding musicians on the jazz scene.
The Rouge Music Library was created in the 1970s and includes a wealth of Disco, Sports, Jazz and Drama. All of these LP’s are now available re-mastered.
Synctracks covers a broad range of popular styles and genres as well as some experimental tracks for those who consider themselves adventurous.
Bridges the gap between commercial music and the ease of licensing of production music. Bite Hard brings authenticity and commercial production values to promos, trailers, TV shows and movies.
Music Licensing
We offer a wide array of music licensing options which can be tailored to the needs of any single or series of productions.
Needle Drop: per use within a single production
Production Blanket: unlimited use within a single production
Series Blanket: unlimited usage throughout a series of related productions
Theme Use: unlimited use of one (1) track for a period of one (1) year
Annual Subscription: unlimited use of a portion or the whole library for a period of 1, 2, or 3 years.
Pricing
Our licensing fees are calculated based upon the type of production, clearances required, territory, and term. Please contact us for a quote at team@dewolfemusic.com
To learn more, we will be speaking at JAG’s general meeting on December 7th at 12:12pm via Zoom.